Dear programmer: If the Boss asks you something, it's okay to say "no".
Since your boss is apparently unaware of the problem, who's going to solve it if you don't speak up? There are no magic hacker fairies on HN that are going to do that for you.
Since your boss is apparently unaware of the problem, who's going to solve it if you don't speak up? There are no magic hacker fairies on HN that are going to do that for you.
It totally sucks that you can't just be a semi-independent craftsman who works on what comes their way in a nice orderly queue, but that's the reality of today's workforce. If the interruptions keep happening time and time again after having this conversation and following up on it, then at least you know where you stand in this company.
"I have a concern that this may not be feasible".
"No, you just have to try harder!"
"Sorry, I wasn't very clear: This is flat out impossible".
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, because google tried, and couldn't do it. You see, it's actually impossible to get the (technical mumbo jumbo) so it will take literally years to run a single query."
And this isn't a typical case. The most likely case is you suspect that the boss is leading everyone into the valley of death, but can't prove it. Do you confront them yourself, try to sound out other colleagues (who may have other concerns, since it's not their problem), or just warn them that there's likely to be problems, and gradually manage their expectations?
In an ideal world, bosses are good at both ferreting out concerns fro indirect hints ("I'm a bit worried that"), and dealing with direct statements ("It's impossible, you git!"). In reality, they are often just wage slaves who kiss up and kick down, and don't really care if the project flops as long as someone else is to blame.
Managing experts in a field means using their expertise. I'd call not using that clueless, so you'll usually only get fired by the clueless.